Category: Employment Law
The Right to Refusal to Work Executive Order Under Covid-19
May 15, 2020 | Scott M. LepakWhile the Minnesota Governor’s May 13, 2020 Executive Order related to the Safe Reopening of Minnesota’s Economy is generating considerable headlines and discussion, it is notable that there was an Executive Order issued the same day that also warrants attention by employers. In Executive Order 20-54, the Minnesota Governor ordered that employers must protect workers from unsafe working conditions and retaliation during the COVID-19 Peacetime Emergency. Employers are forbidden from discriminating or retaliating in any way against a worker communicating orally or in writing with management about occupational safety or health matters related to COVID-19, including asking questions or expressing concerns. This Executive Order also specifically applies existing law related to a refusal to work under certain conditions to the COVID-19 pandemic. Workers have the right to refuse to work under conditions that they, in good faith, reasonably believe present an imminent danger of death or serious physical harm. This includes a reasonable belief that they have been assigned to work in an unsafe or unhealthful manner with an infectious agent such as COVID-19. Employers must not discriminate or retaliate in any way against a worker for the worker’s good faith refusal to perform assigned tasks if the worker has asked the employer to correct the hazardous conditions, but they remain uncorrected. These…
Read MoreEmployers Beware: Minnesota's New Wage Theft Law
August 12, 2019 | Bradley KletscherMinnesota passed a new wage theft law that imposes requirements on employers to provide offer letters. The new law requires employers to give a detailed notice to new employees when they start employment, and must include the following: 1. Employee’s Employment status 2. Must indicate whether employee is full or part time. 3. Must indicate exempt status under the Fair Labor Standards Act. 4. Must list the basis for any exemptions (e.g. administrative, executive, computer-related, other) 5. Pay period information, including how frequently the employee will be paid. 6. Date of first paycheck. 7. How pay is calculated (salary, hourly, commission etc.). 8. List of any allowances that may be paid (e.g. housing, meals, etc.). 9. Description of any paid time off, including vacation, sick, personal time off and how an employee accrues time off and how to use it. 10. List of deductions, including benefit, tax and any other lawful deductions. 11. Employer’s legal and operating names. 12. Employer’s address (mailing and/or principal place of business) and telephone number. 13. If applicable, an offer to translate this information into another language. The new notice required by the law requires an updated offer letter for most employers. If a candidate negotiates changes to wages or benefits, the offer letter should be amended to include…
Read MoreWhat Drivers and Employers Need to Know About the New MN Hands Free Law
July 26, 2019 | Scott M. LepakBefore we get started, the employment law attorneys at BGS would like to thank our clients (old and new) for the massive response and positive feedback on the MN Wage Theft Law blog. We have not been able to verify rumors that the legislature decided that employers didn’t have enough to do going into the last legislative session and did their best to remedy that concern. Come to think of it, we would like to thank the legislature for making sure we never run short of business.The next big thing for drivers and Minnesota employers that came about in the last legislative session was the hands free law. The hands free law comes into effect next month (August 1) and will affect drivers and many employers across Minnesota. Fortunately, this law presents a more straightforward issue for employers than the often murky wage theft law requirements. The hands free laws (Minn. Stat. §§ 169.011, subd. 94 and 169.475) aim to ensure roads are safe from technologically distracted drivers. Starting August 1, 2019, law enforcement will be pulling folks over for speaking on the phone, listening to music, podcasts, or the most recent bestseller, as well as watching videos or looking at pictures, games or software applications if these drivers have their phones in…
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